


Safe Haven

by goawaybri



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, High School AU, Kara is a bean, Lena Luthor is so smol in this wow, Lena Luthor just wants to be happily gay, Maggie is Lena's wingman, Slow Burn Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, SuperCorp, What Have I Done, k have fun reading this angst, so i wrote a thing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-02
Updated: 2017-06-03
Packaged: 2018-11-07 23:54:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11069712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goawaybri/pseuds/goawaybri
Summary: Lena thought that her treehouse was her only safe haven. She'd never imagine that Kara Danvers would be her second one.ORthe heartbreaking high school AU that no one asked for





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't even know where this came from tbh. Just prepare yourself for a lot of angst, fluff, and Lena Luthor feels :,) The title and summary are shit rn, but they will be changed. I just really wanted to get this first chapter up.

Lena was fifteen, a freshman, when she came out- or tried to come out- to her mom. 

"You're not like that, Lena!" Lillian spat in disgust as Lena fought the tears pooling in her eyes. She didn't think her mother would react well, but it hurt all the same. "It would be an embarrassment for a Luthor to be one of them!"

Lena thought she could reason with her adoptive mother, make her understand how she felt and that she was truly happy when she embraced who she was. "But mom, I know what I feel and I know I'm young-" 

"That's right. You're young and you don't know what you're talking about." Lillian paced back and forth in front of Lena."Now, I'm going to do you a favor and forget you ever said this, so long as you never mention it again. Are we clear?" Lillian stopped in front of Lena, looking her in the eyes with a hatred that she'd never seen before. 

"Yes mother." Lena said, her gaze dropping to the floor;not in shame, but in effort to hide the fear and sadness in her eyes. 

"Good. Now, go wash up. Supper will be ready soon." Lillian ordered, and Lena ran up the stairs before her mother even finished her sentence. She needed to cry, and cry she did. That day was etched in her brain as the worst she'd ever experienced in the Luthor household, and that's why, as a junior in high school, Lena doesn't speak to Kara Danvers anymore. 

The two girls were close in middle school; ever since Kara moved in across the street, they were best friends. They went to movies, had sleepovers, and walked up to the pool together in the summer. But in the summer between eighth grade and freshman year something changed for Lena and it all started with Kara's first boyfriend. She knew she should've been excited for her friend and she tried to tell herself that she only hated Mike because he was taking away her time with Kara. But then she started to notice the feeling that she got in her belly whenever Kara hugged her, smiled at her, or even just came into view. She started to notice the way her golden hair shined in the sun and how beautifully her blue eyes lit up when she smiled. She had a crush on her best friend. She tried to ignore it, she really did. She pushed down every romantic feeling that she ever had about the Danvers girl, and she got through the summer and the first semester of high school that way. Then Kara and Mike broke up, and Lena decided that she was going to ask Kara out on Valentines day. So she decided to come out to her family, then ask Kara to go out with her, but all didn't go as planned. After her mother rejected her, she decided that it would be best to stay away from Kara, knowing that she couldn't keep up the charade any longer. 

The girls hadn't done more than wave to each other in years, so of course Lena would be confused as to why Kara Danvers is standing beside her at her locker.

"Hey, Lena!" Kara says with her sunshine-y smile that still makes Lena's stomach do flips. 

"Kara.. hey," She responds, pretending to look for something in her locker so she doesn't have to look her ex-friend (and crush) in the eyes. 

"I was kind of wondering if you could give me a ride home after school today?" She asks shyly. 

Lena hits her head on the shelf in her locker. She's sure she was hearing things. "A ride? Home? After school?" The young Luthor says dumbly. Usually Lena was way more eloquent than this.

"Yeah.. It's just that we live in the same neighborhood and none of my friends are available to take me. i really hate to be a bother but-"

"She'd love to." Maggie smirkes, coming up behind Lena and cutting Kara off in the middle of her rant.

Kara looks to Lena, not totally satisfied. "You're sure? I didn't mean to put you on the spot or anything.." She chuckled nervously, tucking her bottom lip between her teeth. 

"Y-yeah, uh just meet me at my locker after last period." She nods, finally mustering up enough courage to look Kara in the eye. 

"Great! I'll see you soon, then" The blonde saunters off in the direction of her next class as Lena watches her skip away. 

"Way to go, Luthor." Maggie chuckles, opening up her locker right next to Lena's.

"It isn't funny! As my best friend you're supposed to be encouraging me, not laughing at me." The raven haired girl pouts, closing her locker and facing her friend, her textbooks clutched to her chest. 

"I did! I helped you big time just now, which I think earns me a thank you." 

"Fine. Thank you." Lena grumbles as Maggie closes her locker and they start to make their way down the hall. "I hate that I still like her, Maggs.. It's been almost three years. The whole point of distancing myself was to make this crush go away!" 

"You can't just will something away, Lena. Maybe you should act on it, you know? Ask her to hang out or something." She shrugs as they walk into their 4th period math class.

"I don't know, Maggie. Considering the fact that a ten minute drive home makes me nervous, I don't think it's the best idea.. Besides, Lilian would kill me."

Maggie rolls her eyes as they take their seats. "Fuck what Lillian thinks, okay? You decide who you want to be with, not your mom."  
Lena doesn't even have time to respond before the bell rings and class starts.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

Kara was on Lena's mind all day. Every worse case scenario played in her head as she waited at her locker. She was worried that the drive would be awkward, but she was also worried that they would have fun talking and that she would end up missing her old best friend more than she already did. Lena was so caught up in her thoughts that she barely noticed when Kara skipped up in front of her. 

"Lena!" The blonde greets cheerily, "Ready to go?"

Lena's snapped from her thoughts, only half aware of what Kara just said. "Uh, yeah. Let's go." 

The first couple minutes of the drive were spent in silence, Kara nervously playing with her fingers in her lap and Lena chewing on her bottom lip as she drives. Kara's the one to break the silence. 

"Thanks for the ride. My car broke down this morning and my mom had to take me in, but she couldn't come get me after school and I didn't want to take the bus because there are all those gross freshman boys on there and I really didn't want to deal with that.." Kara trails off with a nervous chuckle, clearly embarrassed that she'd been babbling. 

"I see babbling is still one of your nervous habits." Lena laughs, She didn't know where that came from. She decided as soon as she agreed to take Kara home that there would be no mention of their past friendship or the way things used to be. 

A gentle sigh escapes Kara, "Yeah, it still gets me into trouble just like it used to. Like when I had to go to the principal's office in seventh grade and my babbling got me a week's detention." 

Lena can't help but laugh, despite herself. "I remember. You came up in my treehouse and cried into my shoulder until your mom called for you to come home."

"D-do you still have that treehouse?" Kara asks nervously. Lena couldn't imagine why Kara would be scared to ask about something so simple, but she doesn't mention it.

"We do, though no one uses it anymore." Lena lies smoothly. That treehouse was used almost every night, by her. She went up there when she wrote in her journal or just needed to get away from the disgrace that was her adoptive mother. It made her feel safe, and she's convinced that it's the memories that she made with Kara up there that comfort her.

She would never admit that to anyone though, especially not Kara. Hell, she had a hard time admitting it to herself.

A brief silence falls between the two of them as they drove down their street. Right before they reached her house, Kara spoke up. "I miss that treehouse.." She pauses for a minute, looking out the window, clearly to avoid Lena's gaze. "I miss you, Lena." Her voice is just above a whisper.

Lena feels her heart clench at the words. She wanted so desperately to hear them, but she also fears them, knowing that even three years later, there was no way Lena could be Kara's friend without letting her feelings get in the way. She's planning to turn her down, to tell her that they couldn't be friends again and that this ride was nothing more than a favor for a neighbor. Then, Kara turns to look at Lena and she sees it; Kara's crinkle. The crinkle that appeared between her eyebrows when something was troubling her, and Lena can't bear to say anything that would hurt her after seeing the crinkle. 

"I miss you too, Kara." She half smiles at the blonde girl as they roll to a stop in front of the Danvers' driveway. 

The infamous crinkle smooths out as Kara smiles at her old friend. "Thank you for the ride. I hope this won't be the last time we talk." She nods before she got out of the Lena's black car and walked up the driveway. 

'Sadly, it's going to have to be..' Lena thinks to herself as she drives away.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MORE ANGST I'M SO SORRY

After Lena dropped Kara off at home, she didn't expect to hear from her again when she came back to school on Monday. She went almost the whole day without talking to her, though seeing her was inevitable, as she had two classes with her. She walked into her last period, chemistry, and took a seat at her station. Everyone else had a lab partner, except for Lena. It wasn't that she didn't have any friends in that class... okay maybe it was because she didn't have any friends in that class, but she liked to work alone when it came to science, so it worked out in her favor. Ms. Grant had no problem with it, until today apparently. 

"Luthor, come see me please." Ms. Grant called out in the beginning of class. The entire class was looking at her as she walked from her station in the back of the class to the teacher's desk up front, but it didn't bother her. She was used to people looking at her, just cause of the family she comes from. 

"Yes, Ms. Grant?" Lena answered politely as she twisted her fingers together in nervous anticipation. 

"I'm partnering you up with Kara Danvers for the rest of the year. She's left without a lab partner and the rest of the students in this class are paired up." She stated, looking up at Lena with little interest. 

"Wh-what happened to her sister being her lab partner?" Lena questioned, her heart racing. This was not good. This was not good at all. There is no way Lena could keep her A in chemistry if she was partnered with Kara. She also knew that if she spent any more time with her ex best friend, old emotions would resurface, and that's dangerous for the both of them.

"Alex was moved into my honors chemistry class, where she should've been from the start. Now, your partnership begins today so I recommend that you get over to her lab station." 

Lena nodded, knowing by the tone in her teacher's voice that she shouldn't question her or protest any further. She grabbed her bag off of her old station and took a seat beside Kara's at her's. So much for avoiding any interaction with her. 

"Lena! Hey! So you're my new lab partner then?" Kara asked, although the answer was obvious. 

Lena just smiled and nodded, trying to keep her eyes anywhere but on Kara. "Yeah, looks that way..." 

"Look at that. Fate throws us together after all." Kara smiled, taking her seat as class begins. 

Lena isn't entirely sure how it happens. One minute they were making small talk as they were conducting an experiment of some sort, and next Lena was agreeing to come to a game night at Kara's house. She wasn't even sure who was coming, but she agreed to go; mostly because Kara pulled out her irresistible pout when Lena initially declined.   
"So, my house on Friday night? I can take you home after school and we can hang at my house before everyone else shows up. I-if you want." Kara offered lowly as she puts some materials away at the end of class.

Lena busied herself with washing out beakers in the sink. She was grateful for the distraction, so she doesn't have to look Kara right in her baby blues, it's much less intimidating that way. "Yeah, that would be nice, thank you." She'd given up on trying to stay away from Kara at this point, since they were kind of forced to be together now, but she still kept her guard up. She was nice, but closed off. Kind of like she was right before she gave up her friendship with Kara. 

The bell sounded, signalling the end of the school day. Lena stepped away from the sink, drying her hands off and slinging her bag over her shoulders. She felt a pair of arms wrap around her tightly, of course it was Kara, hugging her from the side and resting her chin on Lena's shoulder. "Bye, Lena! I'll see you tomorrow!" Kara said before letting go and skipping out of the classroom with the biggest smile on her face. Lena shakes off her shock and follows behind her, meeting up with Maggie, who teases her about the blush on her cheeks until they part ways to drive home. Kara Danvers was going to be the death of her.   
-  
The week passed by in a blur. Chemistry with Kara wasn't nearly as bad as she thought it'd be. They still managed to get work done as they talked.. well as Kara talked, really. Lena just kind of nodded and added in an "Mhm" or a "Yeah" where she saw fit, unless Kara asked her a question, then she answered it briefly. Which was just fine to her.   
It was Friday and the school day had come and gone, and Kara was currently dragging her out of the school as butterflies erupt in her stomach when Kara takes her hand. That's all she can focus on, Kara's hand in hers. It was an oddly familiar feeling, though the last time this happened was in their freshman year. She laughs as Kara runs, pulling Lena behind her.   
"Slow down!" Lena yelled between giggling. She felt like a giddy teenager in love, which is exactly what she was. She was breathless by the time they get to Kara's car, and Kara doesn't seem to be affected at all. She ducked into the passenger seat and Kara pulled her hand away. 

"You know I forgot to ask, who's coming tonight?" Lena asked, letting the curiosity get the better of her.

"Alex, of course. Winn Schott, Lucy Lane and James Olsen - since they come as a package deal nowadays- and uh... Mike Matthews." She mumbled the last name, almost as if she didn't want Lena to hear her. 

"M-mike is coming?" Lena asked in shock. Even after all these years, she still hates the guy. Not just because he's Kara's ex, but because he's an abusive, self righteous, sexist asshole. And she may still be just a little bit jealous of him... maybe more than a little bit. "I thought you two broke up ages ago?" 

"We did, but we became friends again shortly after." Even without looking, she knew that Lena was looking at her with disapproval. "I know you never liked him, even when we dated, but he really isn't all that bad." 

"Mhmm." Lena replied bitterly. 

Kara sighed as they pull into her driveway. She parked the car and turned to face Lena. "If you really don't like him, I'll make sure he doesn't bother you, okay?" She promised with a sincere nod. 

Lena nodded as well, she wasn't completely satisfied, but she didn't want to make Kara feel bad. 

The two head into the Danvers' house, toeing off their shoes by the front door. It was weird being back there again. It brought back so many of her favorite memories and warm feelings that came with hanging out here. She couldn't help but smile as they padded up the stairs and into Kara's room. The walls were the same deep purple color as she remembered, but all the N'Sync posters that littered her walls were taken down so they were just plain with a few picture frames hanging on them. She recognized most of the people in the pictures as her family, or the kids she usually hung out with at school. She then caught sight of a bright pink frame siting on her desk with the words "best friends" spelled out in swirly letters across the top. In the frame was a picture if herself and Kara in the eighth grade on the day the graduated middle school. "I gave you this as a graduation present.." Lena said in awe, picking up the frame and showing it to Kara. "I can't believe you still have this!" 

Kara giggled as she rummaged through her closet, not even having to look to know what Lena was talking about. "Of course I still have it. "It was and still is very special to me."  
This makes Lena's heart swell with affection. She puts the frame down and saunters over to Kara's bed, taking a seat. The blonde turns around with a short stack of clothes in her hands. 

"Are you going to change?" Kara asked with a raise of her eyebrow. 

Lena felt dumb as she looked at Kara sheepishly, "I didn't bring a change of clothes. I could run up the road to my house and grab some?" 

Kara waved her off and handed she the stack of clothes in her hands. "Here take these. It'll save you a trip." 

Lena was internally grateful. Going back home would mean dealing with Lillian, and that was something she was not in the mood for. "What about you? Weren't you going to wear these?" 

Kara chuckled, turning back around to look through her closet. "I have plenty of tee shirts and comfortable shorts, Lena. Don't worry about me." She paused for a beat before turning around with another pair of clothes in her hands. "You remember where the bathroom is, right?" 

All Lena can do is nod, then she walked out to go get changed. 

The shirt was a little long on her, but the running shorts fit her perfectly. She stared herself in the mirror to see what shirt Kara had given her to wear. It was one from the most recent school theatre production, Alice in Wonderland, where of course Kara played Alice. She shamelessly brought the collar up to her nose, breathing in the scent of Kara before walking back into her room. There, Kara is laying on her bed, flat on her stomach with her feet swinging in the air.

"So, you still like video games, right?" Kara asked. eyeing Lena as she turns her TV on. 

"Is that even a question?" Lena asks as she lays on the bed next to Kara. "Pass me a controller, Danvers."

The girls sat in Kara's bedroom, laughing and playing GTA for an hour and a half before the first guest showed up. Lena almost wanted to ask Kara to cancel game night so they could sit and play video games all night long. It felt like they never stopped being friends for that short period of time, and Lena didn't want it to end. 

By now, everyone had shown up and Kara's living room was filled with all of Kara's theatre friends, and Alex. James and Winn were super nice to Lena, and treated her like she was apart of their friend group. Alex gave her a hug when she saw her, mumbling something about how glad she was to see her again. Lucy took a while to warm up, but when she did, Lena began to like her. She stayed near Kara for the first half of the night. When she finally felt brave enough she went to talk to Lucy and Alex on her own. 

When she looked over at Kara, she saw that Mike was beside her, clearly trying to flirt. She felt her stomach clench at the sight of his smug face, and even more at the sight of Kara laughing. She looked away, not wanting anyone, especially Kara to catch her staring. She must've been staring longer than she thought, though. Lucy and Alex gave her knowing looks. 

"He flirts with her all the time, but he doesn't get anywhere." Lucy shrugged."I wouldn't worry about it."

Shit. They were onto her. "Oh- uh no I- I don't really care who flirts with Kara... that's none of my business." Lena's cheeks turned bright red. 

"Oh come on, you may not be as close with my sister anymore, but you still care about her, and just like the rest of us, you don't want her to end up with that asshole again." Alex said, eyeing Mike and Kara.

Before Lena could respond, Kara sat down on the couch next to her and to her surprise, takes her hand  
.   
"What are we talking about?" The blonde asked as she takes a sip of her drink. 

Lucy, Alex, and Lena all look to each other. "Oh just how we're going to beat the boys in the next round of charades." Lena answered playfully. 

"Nice, save," Alex leaned over and whispered.

"Oh, hell yeah we are!" Kara exclaimed excitedly, squeezing Lena's hand. "You're a great addition to our team." 

Lena blushed wildly. She couldn't help the upturn of her lips when she looks at Kara, and the other two girls are forgotten for the moment. "Well, I'm flattered." 

Neither of them saw Lucy and Alex smirking and whispering.   
-  
James and Lucy left first, then Winn, then after awhile (Much to Lena's dismay) Mike finally left. Alex gave Lena a hug and said her goodnight before heading upstairs and retiring to her room. 

Lena stayed behind to help Kara clean up all of the food and plastic cups that her friends left behind. They did so in comfortable silence with Kara's music playlist in the background. Lena went upstairs to gather her things and change back into her normal clothes, handing Kara back the T shirt and running shorts. "Thank you for having me. You're theatre geek friends are nicer than I thought they'd be." Lena nodded, taking a seat beside Kara on the bed. 

"Well you're welcome anytime, and not just to game night. You know, I meant what I said in the car the other day." The blonde admitted sheepishly, avoiding Lena's gaze.

"Pardon?" 

"I meant it when I said that I missed you. I'm glad we're becoming such great friends again, Lee." She beamed at Lena, her eyes lighting up.

Lena's heart clenched at the use of the old nickname and the sincerity of Kara's words, and... oh no there it is; that feeling at the pit of her stomach that makes her feel everything at once. She felt giddy, frustrated, pitiful, joyful and most of all stupid and all of those emotions swirled in her stomach like a tornado. She started to realize that she let her guard down tonight just by coming here. Lena felt like she was out of control, which was troubling, considering that she was usually in control of everything in her life, including her feelings. "No." She said sharply, looking straight into Kara's eyes this time. "I'm sorry Kara, but we can't be friends again, and- and coming her tonight was a mistake." She said shakily, grabbing her bookbag off the doorknob and slinging it over her shoulders. 

Kara's smile fell and her baby blue eyes turned dark. It was horrible to see someone who was so happy and cheery all the time look so defeated and it hurt to know that it was her making Kara feel this way, but it had to be done to protect her and Kara's hearts. "Wh-what? Lena, I thought we were.. I thought we were getting back to the way things used to be..." 

She tried to ignore that there were tears pooling in Kara's eyes, she tried to ignore the quiver of her lip as she talked, and she tried to ignore the crinkle that formed n between her eyebrows, but she couldn't. She had no choice but to look away, knowing that if she kept her gaze on the blonde, she would end up caving. She would end up hugging her and telling her things like 'of course we're becoming friends again' and Lena couldn't take that risk. "It's complicated, Kara." Lena choked out bitterly as she walked down the stairs, Kara right on her heels. 

"That's what you said back in freshman year, Lena. I'm going to need more than that this time!" Kara yelled, tears freely streaming down her cheeks now. 

Lena stopped in front of the door, her hand resting on the knob. "I can't give you more than that."

"Why can't we be friends like we were in middle school? There was nothing complicated about our friendship! I just don't understand!" Kara was angry now, angry that Lena kept running away, angry that she wasn't getting an explanation, and angry that Lena wasn't letting her in. 

Lena's blood was boiling. She just wished Kara would stop pushing and let her leave. If she didn't get out of there soon, her own tears would start falling. Her brain was scattered, like a million voices were all talking inside her head at the same time. "We can't be friends because of how I feel about you, Kara! I don't really feel like breaking my own heart again and that's exactly what being friends with you would do." The truth spews out of her without her even thinking about it first. Her eyes are wide like a deer in headlights and her cheeks turn red in embarrassment. "I-I gotta go.." She stutters, on the verge of tears. She turns the doorknob and runs out of the Danvers' house and down the road to her own, ignoring Kara's calls for her to wait. Except she doesn't go inside the house, she ran straight to her backyard and up into her treehouse.


End file.
